reaper sound editor tips Asbjoern Andersen


Interest in REAPER just continues to grow – but getting started can be a bit daunting, as there are just so many options and possibilities. Luckily, here’s The REAPER blog’s Jon Tidey with his favorite tips for making the most of this popular DAW:



 

In the past few years I’ve seen a ton of professionals switching to REAPER for sound design and dialog work. Asbjoern noticed this as well and asked me to share some tips here on A Sound Effect. So here are my 5 tips for making the most of REAPER, whether you’re just getting started or want to optimize your existing workflow.

1: Fix the file management

Without some care and attention, your projects and associated files can quickly become a confusing mess. File management is vitally important, and REAPER provides complete control over auto backups, file names, peak files, and more, but none of these are set by default.
Briefly, here’s how I have mine set
• Timestamped AutoBackups and ReaPeak files saved to a specific folder (away from project audio)
• Backup frequency is 6min
• Trackname[xx] format for recorded file names.
imported files will be copied to the project folder, which is called ‘Audio Files’ or ‘Media’ in the same place as the project file.
• Temp files (old backup and peaks) cleaned if older than 7 days via nightly scheduled Automator script

For details check out this article on Reaper File management.
 

2: Optimize zooming and scrolling

When working in a DAW you have a mouse in your hand for 90% of it. The way you move around the project needs to be intuitive and effortless.
The defaults for zooming and scrolling in REAPER make absolutely no sense to me. Mouse wheel to zoom makes sense in a realtime strategy game, but you’d expect it to scroll up and down the timeline in a DAW. Luckily that’s easy to fix.
Open the action list and filter by ‘mousewheel’ to find everything the mouse wheel can be assigned to. Filter for scroll or zoom and there are even more options. Configure it like your old DAW or whatever else makes the most sense to you. I go into the details of my setup in this video.



Customizing Zoom and Scroll in REAPER


3: Use your screensets

reaper screenset
Screensets are a fast way to save and load your optimized window positions for any task you’re currently doing. This is a lot like saving window positions in Pro Tools Memory Locations, but these are global and will work for all your projects.

For example, you could have one layout with the just the arrange view and your custom toolbars, a second with the mixer fullscreen, a 3rd with your dialog fx plugins floating. In this video I show the screen sets feature in detail.
 
 



How To Use Screensets in REAPER


Need more help with REAPER? Get it here:
 
Looking for more help with REAPER, or do you want to read or share tips, ideas and resources? Visit the new REAPER channel on the Sound Community Discord server here

4: Get the extensions


What’s an extension? It’s like a plugin for REAPER that adds additional functions such as an envelope LFO generator; startup actions; and marker to bpm conversion tool.
There are two extensions that I consider essential: SWS S&M; and ReaPack.
The previously mentioned features are part of SWS, and it also includes a few hundred more actions that are useful alone or as part of custom actions.

ReaPack is a package manager for REAPER. What that means is it can search for and install package updates automatically.
color picker
A package could be LUA or EEL script, a JSFX plugin, extensions or other ReaPack compatible thing. If you have no interest in learning to script, ReaPack is a great way to start using them, just install 500+ in one-shot, then use them from the action list. Did I mention that these extensions and scripts are free?

sidebar: Extensions are a collection of functions and compiled code. Scripts are individual tools in non-compiled lua, eel or python code that use REAPER’s API. If a function needs a GUI then extension or script is the way to go.


Popular on A Sound Effect right now - article continues below:


Trending right now:

  • Shine and Glitter brings shiny, elegant sounds to your local sound library. Find the true sound of it with Vadi Sound Library.

    About Shine and Glitter SFX Pack

    From glittering transitions and fairy dust to tonal sparkle sounds in 150+ stereo 24bit/96kHz .WAV files.

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  • AudioHero’s Cartoon collection Volume 5 features 100 professionally produced sound effects, ready for use in your productions. This library includes everything you need to turn your production into a cartoon masterpiece! These sounds are all hand-picked from the Sound Ideas Cartoon Express, General HD and Digiffects Complete libraries.

  • AudioHero’s Cartoon collection Volume 4 features 200 professionally produced sound effects, ready for use in your productions.  This library includes everything you need to turn your production into a cartoon masterpiece!  These sounds are all hand-picked from the Sound Ideas Cartoon Express and Hollywood Edge Cartoon Trax 1 and 2 sound effects libraries.  Included are musical accents, bells, boings, hits, skids, honks, squeaks, bounces, crashes and more.

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    This collection was designed & recorded using top quality equipment providing a discrete signal path: Sound Devices 702 field recorder, a pair of Neumann KM184 microphones, Access Virus Ti virtual analog synthesiser, DSI Prophet analog synthesiser, Waldorf Pulse 2. We have also used an Apogee Symphony AD/DA for additional processing and routing.

    Please note: The background music heard in the product demo is for promotional purposes and is not included in this pack.


Latest releases:

  • Step into the shadows with Dark Dungeon Soundscapes Pt. 2, the soundscapes collection for game developers, filmmakers, and creators seeking spine-chilling atmosphere. This second edition brings you even deeper into the abyss with haunting ambient textures, eerie whispers, unsettling drips, distant screams, and the deep echoes of forgotten catacombs.

    Designed for horror and cinematic projects, these soundscapes will set the perfect tone for dark fantasy, gothic horror, or deep dungeon-crawling adventures. Whether you’re unveiling an ancient crypt, leading players into a cursed temple, or orchestrating a demonic ritual, these immersive sounds will pull your audience into the darkness.

    🔥 Features:

    Diverse environments, from eerie ruins to underground horrors

    Seamless looping for extended play sessions

     

  • Car Sound Effects Speed Engines Play Track 102 sounds included, 15 mins total $10

    Rev up your creativity with Speed Engines Sound Effects, a collection of roaring, revving, and accelerating engine sounds. Perfect for game developers, filmmakers, and content creators, this pack features a variety of engine types, from thunderous muscle cars to high-speed motorcycles.

    Each sound is recorded to deliver crisp, immersive audio that brings speed and power to life. Whether you’re working on a racing game, an action-packed movie, or a thrilling YouTube video, these sound effects will add adrenaline-pumping realism to your project.

    🔥 Features:
    ✅25 – Engine SFX / 77 – Pass By
    ✅ Variety of engine types and variations
    Royalty-free – use in commercial & personal projects with no extra fees
    ✅ Ready for use in games, films, and multimedia projects

  • Hum, Buzz & Glitch Sound Effects Raw Buffers Play Track 14 sounds included, 23 mins total $25

    RAW BUFFERS – a Discman glitch library.
    Abrasive glitch clicks, scrambles, tones and bursts.



    RAW BUFFERS – a Discman glitch library


    Harvesting the glitches from short-circuiting the “electronic skip protection” chip on a late 90’s Discman player.
    Connecting the legs of this chip mangles and scrambles the buffer data, resulting in abrasive digital clicks, stutters, tones and bursts.

    23 minutes (1.6GB) of 192kHz/24 bit recordings
    UCS compliant and with relevant metadata.

  • All files are recorded 32bit, 192 kHz, with RØDE NTG1, Line Audio Omni1 and FEL Clippy XLR EM272 microphones, Sound Devices MixPre-6 II recorder. Library contains wav files of driving, foley, mechanical and electrical sounds. It is also available in UCS.

  • Enhance your projects with our 196 Carefully Recorded and Designed Fabric Sound Effects. This diverse collection of high-quality fabric sounds is perfect for adding realism and dynamic movement to your characters and environments. From the rustling of clothing to the swishing of fabrics in motion, each sound has been meticulously recorded and designed to bring your scenes to life. Ideal for game developers, filmmakers, and sound designers, these fabric sound effects will add depth and authenticity to every wardrobe, interaction, and environmental detail. Whether you’re working on character animations, environmental design, or immersive storytelling, these sounds provide the perfect touch to elevate your work.

    Features:

    •  Body Armor Mesh – 70 SFX
    •  Clothing / Textile Drops – 61 SFX
    •  Fabrics – 57 SFX
    • Zips – 8 SFX
Need specific sound effects? Try a search below:


Some interesting scripts that you can get with ReaPack:
• Airon_Colour Swatch.lua – A nice colour picker for tracks and items
• Breeder_spk77_GlueTools.lua – provides toggles for what happens when gluing items.
• mpl_Randomize Track FX Parameters

Not an extension, but something that’s also really helpful is the VLC media player. Once installed on your system REAPER can use it as a decoder for videos and allows you to import more file formats. If you work with video you’ll need this. Be sure to get the 64-bit installer.
 

5: Be part of the community

REAPER has a friendly and generous user community. There are so many users sharing their knowledge, scripts, custom themes, effects, templates and more for free or by donation. The official REAPER forum is also where you should go for support, bug reports and pre-release testing. There are several good groups on Facebook, there’s a subReddit, and even a secret Slack team for professional users (have a guess at who you’d ask to get in to that one). If you need something, just ask! If you discover a great tip, share it!
 

A big thanks to Jon Tidey for his Reaper tips!

 

Jon Tidey is a freelance Micslinger in Vancouver and editor of The REAPER Blog. Meet him on Twitter / Facebook / Youtube
 

Please share this:


 



 
 
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  • 96KHZ 24BIT • 547MB • 297 FILES • UCS

    Fiery Movements is a high-quality, new PMSFX library built for creators who need fire to move fast, slow, eruptive, or scorched into the air. Crafted for modern cinematic sound design, this collection delivers an arsenal of over 297 meticulously designed fire-based motion effects, from aggressive whooshes and trails to bursting impacts.

    What sets this collection apart is its origin: over 90% of the fire movement sounds were synthesized in Bitwig Studio’s GRID, where analog-style synthesis, FM, distortion, and spectral shaping were combined with macro-modulated dynamics and convolution layering. The result? Fire that doesn’t just sound real – it sounds scorching hot!

    Perfect for sound designers working on:

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    DESIGNED IN: Bitwig
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    Inside, you’ll find a wide variety of magical types:
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    ☠️ Poison, Mud, Rocks
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    More about the pack
    – Intuitive file naming
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    – Use the sound effects over and over, in any of your projects or productions, forever without any additional fees or royalties. Use the SFX in your game, in your trailer, in a Kickstarter campaign, wherever you need to, as much as you want to.
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    – All sounds have several variations.
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    – For any questions or problems: khronstudio@gmail.com

    Features
    – 405 spell sounds
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    – Win/Mac: Yes
    – Minutes of audio provided: 22:26

  • Cinematic & Trailer Sound Effects Blade Sound Pack Play Track 1400 sounds included, 83 mins total $30

    1400 meticulously processed stereo blades sound effects recorded in 96 khz and 24 bits for high audio definition.

    The collection comes with hundreds of variations and many different weapon types. It also includes raw files for more flexibility for your projets and each asset has a version with and without reverb for more control.

    This collection is perfect for any films, video games or trailers.

    Recorded weapons: katana, kris knife, khukuri dagger, big and medium kitchen knife and hunting knife.

    This sound library includes various type of sounds:  blades scraping, single or multiple impacts, whooshes, designed and powerful sword sounds for trailer and cinematic, gore slashing and stabbing, blade sheathing and unsheathing, short and long combat sequences, background  sword battle, and more.

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Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:
 
  • Step into the shadows with Dark Dungeon Soundscapes Pt. 2, the soundscapes collection for game developers, filmmakers, and creators seeking spine-chilling atmosphere. This second edition brings you even deeper into the abyss with haunting ambient textures, eerie whispers, unsettling drips, distant screams, and the deep echoes of forgotten catacombs.

    Designed for horror and cinematic projects, these soundscapes will set the perfect tone for dark fantasy, gothic horror, or deep dungeon-crawling adventures. Whether you’re unveiling an ancient crypt, leading players into a cursed temple, or orchestrating a demonic ritual, these immersive sounds will pull your audience into the darkness.

    🔥 Features:

    Diverse environments, from eerie ruins to underground horrors

    Seamless looping for extended play sessions

     

  • Car Sound Effects Speed Engines Play Track 102 sounds included, 15 mins total $10

    Rev up your creativity with Speed Engines Sound Effects, a collection of roaring, revving, and accelerating engine sounds. Perfect for game developers, filmmakers, and content creators, this pack features a variety of engine types, from thunderous muscle cars to high-speed motorcycles.

    Each sound is recorded to deliver crisp, immersive audio that brings speed and power to life. Whether you’re working on a racing game, an action-packed movie, or a thrilling YouTube video, these sound effects will add adrenaline-pumping realism to your project.

    🔥 Features:
    ✅25 – Engine SFX / 77 – Pass By
    ✅ Variety of engine types and variations
    Royalty-free – use in commercial & personal projects with no extra fees
    ✅ Ready for use in games, films, and multimedia projects

  • Hum, Buzz & Glitch Sound Effects Raw Buffers Play Track 14 sounds included, 23 mins total $25

    RAW BUFFERS – a Discman glitch library.
    Abrasive glitch clicks, scrambles, tones and bursts.



    RAW BUFFERS – a Discman glitch library


    Harvesting the glitches from short-circuiting the “electronic skip protection” chip on a late 90’s Discman player.
    Connecting the legs of this chip mangles and scrambles the buffer data, resulting in abrasive digital clicks, stutters, tones and bursts.

    23 minutes (1.6GB) of 192kHz/24 bit recordings
    UCS compliant and with relevant metadata.

  • All files are recorded 32bit, 192 kHz, with RØDE NTG1, Line Audio Omni1 and FEL Clippy XLR EM272 microphones, Sound Devices MixPre-6 II recorder. Library contains wav files of driving, foley, mechanical and electrical sounds. It is also available in UCS.

  • Enhance your projects with our 196 Carefully Recorded and Designed Fabric Sound Effects. This diverse collection of high-quality fabric sounds is perfect for adding realism and dynamic movement to your characters and environments. From the rustling of clothing to the swishing of fabrics in motion, each sound has been meticulously recorded and designed to bring your scenes to life. Ideal for game developers, filmmakers, and sound designers, these fabric sound effects will add depth and authenticity to every wardrobe, interaction, and environmental detail. Whether you’re working on character animations, environmental design, or immersive storytelling, these sounds provide the perfect touch to elevate your work.

    Features:

    •  Body Armor Mesh – 70 SFX
    •  Clothing / Textile Drops – 61 SFX
    •  Fabrics – 57 SFX
    • Zips – 8 SFX

   

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